Invisibly Beautiful
by DramaticStarlet
Summary: Although, he did have rather pretty eyes. RyanGabriella.


**-invisibly beautiful-**

**ryella.**

**By Katie**

**a/n: Basically, I dig Ryella angst. I know, I'm oh so silly. :) This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic, by the way...**

**disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical...YET...**

-

_the fake smiles._

They met on a rainy Sunday. He had been on his way to baseball practice, she'd been headed for her boyfriend's house. It was even that they'd formally met. They accidentally bumped into each other on the street, said their apologies, and walked away without another word about it.

However, he had though about her on his way to practice. He knew her name was Gabriella, and he knew she'd transferred to his school a year or so before. He knew she hung out with the cheerleaders and the basketball players.

She seemed happy. And yet, he noticed something forced about her smiled. Something sad and desperate lingered in her chocolate eyes.

And with that thought, any other things he'd noticed about her completely faded away in his mind.

She had given him a quick thought after their brief encounter. His name was Ryan, and he was in her Chemistry class. She remembered that he was somewhat of a longer and his twin sister just happened to be the vice president of the Drama Club.

She knew nothing else about him, so she saw no reason to give him any further thought.

Although, he did have rather pretty eyes.

-

_the unwelcome tears._

Their second encounter happened on a windy Monday. They were in Chemistry, and she asked to borrow a pencil. He'd smiled and nodded before handing her a mechanical pencil. She'd given him a smile in return and took the pencil. Oh, and her fingers had lightly grazed his palm.

He noticed that her fingernails were painted a feminine, light peach color that coordinated with her soft sherbet-colored top. And yet, there was one black fingernail on her left ring finger, as if it was her way of rebelling.

He noticed little wet marks on her notebook, and wondered what they were, before the teacher gave him a stern look that said "Pay attention".

She had noticed him looking at her fingernails, so she slightly bit her lip. While he'd been examining her nails, she stared at his paper. He'd drawn a person on it who looked an awful lot like Kelsi Nielson. Kelsi Nielson was one of her best friends. She wondered why in the world he was drawing her.

But all thoughts of him were erased when she realized she hadn't taken any notes at all.

She still was a little curious as to why Ryan was drawing in class.

-

_the hidden desires._

They had their first real conversation on a sunny Tuesday. He rode the bus that morning, and the only seat left just happened to be next to her. He introduced himself, and she did the same. The conversation began with the nice weather before straying to school and friends.

He told her about his best friend, Chad Danforth. He talked easily about the baseball team, and their current losing streak. And he managed to squeeze in a little bit about his temperamental twin sister.

Then it was her turn.

She spoke about her boyfriend, Troy Bolton, the star forward for the school basketball team. And she spoke about how Troy hated Chad Danforth (he got a good laugh at that). Her next talking point was her best friend Keeri Schumacher and the other members of the cheerleading squad. She hesitated in telling him that she felt that she didn't quite fit in, before deciding against it. He probably didn't care anyway, right?

She gave him her e-mail address before the bus stopped at school.

She found it strange that he didn't give her his e-mail address in return. Because she secretly wanted to talked with him more.

-

_the little white lie._

Their first "deep" conversation came on a chilly Wednesday. She'd been sitting on a park bench with tears in her eyes and hate in her heart when he saw her that afternoon. He saw red slashed on her wrist when he came closer, and casually sat down next to her. She had looked at him, wiped her tears away, and said hello. He asked her if she was alright. And she spilled her entire story.

He listened intently, his head spinning as she told him about her life. He couldn't imagine ever having to go through what she was. A lump formed in his throat even when he thought about it. It was just too bizarre and surreal.

Something told him he needed to help her.

She felt ill speaking about it. How they had forced her to lie about it, how they ignored her tears. How she couldn't forget about it, no matter how hard she tried. It was too hard. It ate her mind, body, and spirit.

She didn't know him, Ryan, very well, but she felt like she could tell him anything. And trust him. And yet, when he asked her if she could deal with it, she lied and said yes.

Which she couldn't help but regret.

-

_the silver lining._

They became friends on a snowy Thursday. The first snow Albuquerque had seen in three years. He had been staring out the window in Chemistry, admiring the little white flakes. She teased him about not paying attention during his _favorite _class. He smirked at her and made a smart remark. She had smiled at him; a real, genuine smile.

He looked at her and quickly scribbled down his cell phone number. He wasn't sure she was even going to call him. They didn't know a lot about each other...well, she didn't know a lot about him, anyway.

So he was surprised when he got a call from her that night.

She talked, he listened. She just talked about her life and herself and what a dragon her homeroom teacher, Ms. Darbus, was. Then she asked about him. She was surprised to learn that he found his sister's over-enthusiasm about theater completely annoying. She felt sad when she learned that his first girlfriend, Taylor McKessie, had dumped him because he "wasn't a diligent enough student". And she laughed hysterically when he did an imitation of their Chemistry teacher.

She knew her boyfriend would disapprove of her hanging out with Chad Danforth's best friend.

However...she called him the next night. Her boyfriend could go fly a kite.

-

_the realizations._

They fell in love on a hot Friday night. He was sitting in the bleachers of East High's gymnasium during their basketball championship against West High. She was on the court sidelines, cheering her heart out. He wasn't watching the game; his eyes were too busy focusing on her. She was yelling and screaming for the team, but her heart was really in the bleachers with a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed boy.

He was kicking himself for not going to more games. This had been the first basketball game he's gone to during his entire four years in high school. But he should have gone to more. To look at her. To look at the way her black curls bobbed up and down when she jumped. To watch her brown eyes sparkle when the team scored a basket. To see her cheeks flush when the timer buzzed, to see her break out into a smile when the time came for her to stand atop the pyramid of cheerleaders.

He should have gone to more games because she just happened to be the most beautiful girl in the world. He should have gone to more games because he just happened to be in love with her.

Her eyes had been searching for him in the bleachers the whole game. She wanted to look him in the eyes, and just stare. She did find him eventually; one minute to the end of the game. Her heart stopped when their eyes met. He smiled at her, and her heart began wildly beating in her chest. She knew she had some sort of silly grin slapped onto her face. That was when she felt a pair of lips on hers; her boyfriend's. Her _boyfriend _was screaming something about having won the championship.

But she didn't want her boyfriend's kisses.

She wanted his kisses...she wanted Ryan's.

-

_the final straw._

They escaped on a foggy Saturday. He had come to her house to take her to the movies. When she answered the door, she was hysterical with tears and had cuts on her wrists. His blood had boiled with anger as he helped her into his car and wiped away her tears. She had been too weak to even talk.

He couldn't believe _them_. They were her parents; how could they betray her like that, time after time? In any case, he didn't take her to a movie or anywhere in the same vicinity of a movie theater. He simply drove her to wherever she wanted to go.

He would have driven her for the rest of his life; he never wanted her to go home again.

She cuddled up with his sweatshirt in the passenger's seat, wishing this had all been some sort of horrible nightmare. Alas, it was not. She'd made him stop at a restaurant 50 miles south of Albuquerque. Once inside the restaurant, she pressed her face to his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She had thought that Ryan might be her saving grace; now she knew he was.

That night, she confessed her love for him.

Needless to say, she never set foot into her parents' house again.

_-_

_the happy ending._

They moved to Los Angeles on a gloomy Sunday. He had been nervous and his stomach had been in knots. She'd been excited and happy. She kissed him softly and slowly to calm his nerves; she told him she loved him over and over again. His heart quivered with happiness every time she did so.

He wasn't nervous anymore when the rain poured. They had just reached the exit to Arizona when raindrops pelted his car. He laughed, and told her he couldn't believe it was raining on such a happy day. He turned to her and saw her eyes glittering and sparkling happily. He knew why. She was rid of _them _forever.

Or he _thought _he knew why.

She'd been so happy when it started to rain. She thought he probably wouldn't know why she liked the rain that day so much.

It had rained that day. The day that changed her life forever, and now it was raining on another momentous day...

"Ryan, did you know that we met on a rainy Sunday?"

-

**This my masterpiece. PLEASE leave me a nice, thought out review, because I'm so excited about this story!**

_**(Bye the way, I have no idea what Gabriella's parents did to her. Use your imagination.)**_


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